The field of the invention is headphones, and particularly, high quality headphones which are mass produced for the high fidelity market.
High quality headphones which are intended to reproduce high fidelity sound are manufactured in many shapes and sizes. Most of them, however, include one or more acoustic transducers which are held over the user's ears by a supporting structure which also encloses the acoustic transducer and provides an aesthetically pleasing appearance. In many headphones this supporting structure takes the form of a pair of ear cup assemblies which are held in place over the user's ears by a headband.
Because headphones may be worn for extended periods of time, user comfort is a major consideration in their design. This requires not only that the weight of the headphone be kept to a minimum, but also, that the ear cup assemblies be aligned correctly over the user's ears. The latter requirement is accomplished best by enabling each ear cup assembly to pivot about both a vertical axis and a horizontal axis. Numerous supporting structures which provide pivotal connection of the ear cup assemblies to the headband are known, and in most cases such structures include numerous parts which must be assembled with fasteners during manufacture.